Things Remembered
by Steve West on October 2, 2021

When I was in kindergarten, a girl brought a doll to class. It was so pretty that even the boys liked it. Everyone played with it but I was the one who broke it. She cried, of course, and I promised to get her a similar one. I asked my parents to get it for me for my birthday instead of the thing I had asked for. They agreed and thought it was a good idea. I gave it to her on my birthday. Her joy was the best payoff I could have received. At dinner, my dad gave me my own present. He said I had done the right thing and was proud of me.
One Reply to Things Remembered
Web Junkie
Steve West scours the Web searching for interest or absurdity and then shakes his head ruefully when he finds it. Read more »

My Child Bride
I've mentioned my wife, Brenda in numerous posts. Thought it was about time to introduce (at least her picture) her to my on-line friends. This is also the only picture to which she consented. Go »
Halloween Is Not For Kids
More and more, Halloween is becoming an occasion for parents to dress their kids for their own amusement and less and less for children to dress themselves as they want. I find it difficult to believe that any of these kids chose these costumes themselves and, although creative, are scary insights into the minds of their potential serial killer parents. The "rat eating brains" cap for infants disturbed me the most. Go »
Post-vacation Blues
Without going into great detail, my co-workers are muddle-brained knuckleheads that make the Keystone Kops look like a Mensa meeting. Federal sanctions are not that far-fetched. Changes will be made soon. Go »
Killer Home Decor (Literally)
From chalk outline welcome doormats to dead horse head pillows à la The Godfather (with protruding tongue, no less), this website features decorations to give your home that perfect serial killer feel. I especially like the pooling blood carpet. Go »
First Post
Rather than clog the TC Board with things that mostly interest me exclusively, this seemed a more appropriate avenue. I'll probably post something nearly every day as I'm online daily just surfin' & lookin' for weird stuff. For example, how else would I have ever known of these products if I hadn't seen them using "strange" in a search string? Go »
Scott Hardie | October 7, 2021
That's a great story, Steve. Good on you.
If i may hijack your blog post with a story that's not so great, I've been haunted all of my life by a similar opportunity where I made the selfish choice.
When I was maybe 3, all of the neighborhood kids got invitations to a birthday party. My mother took me to the bookstore to pick out a gift, and we settled on a children's storybook about an anthropomorphized owl who delivers mail (long before Harry Potter). It came with a little toy figurine of the owl in his postal uniform, attached to the back of the book via netting made of thin cloth mesh.
I read the book, I liked the book, I wanted the book for myself, I wanted to play with the toy... I think you can see where this is going. My mother couldn't take me back to the store to buy one for me too, but I was just so desperate to play with the owl that I ripped open the netting and played with the owl and lost it. My mother didn't find out until she went to wrap it just before the party. I got a stern talking-to about things that are not mine no matter how much I want them, and then I had to hand-deliver the present with the ripped netting and missing toy.
I can't remember if i apologized to the birthday kid, but it's been decades and I have never stopped feeling guilty about it.